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Damien Rice

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Damien Rice

Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer/songwriter and musician. As a musician he plays the guitar, cello, violin, piano and drums.

Rice began his musical career as a member of the 90’s rock group Juniper, releasing two singles with the band, however due to increasing interference from their record label Polygram he decided to leave the band and pursue a solo career. Striking out on his own Rice spent time living as a farmer in Tuscany and later busked his way around Europe before returning to Ireland.

After getting into contact with his second cousin, music producer David Arnold, Rice sent him a demo of his work, which impressed Arnold enough that he bought him a mobile recording studio so he could record his debut. After collaborating with several artists throughout Ireland and England Rice released his debut O on the 1st of February 2002, which peaked at #8 on the UK albums chart and went on to win the Shortlist music prize. O also produced two top 30 singles, "Cannonball" and "Volcano".

Rice released his second album 9 in 2006. The Irish Times placed Rice at number thirty four in a list of “The Best 50 Irish Acts Right Now” in April 2009, referring to him as "the quiet one, the intense one, the singer-songwriter most revered by the other quiet and intense ones” and as “a most excruciatingly honest songwriter.” [1]


Biography

Early life and Juniper

Rice was born to George and Maureen Rice and raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland.[2]

Beginning his music career under the stage name of "Dodima" Rice formed the rock band Juniper along with Paul Noonan, Dominic Philips and Brian Crosby in 1991. The band met whilst they were attending Salesian College secondary school in Celbridge, Co. Kildare as students. After touring throughout Ireland the band released their debut EP Manna in 1995. [3]
Based at Straffan, Kildare the band continued their touring and in September the band signed a six album record deal with Polygram. With the release of their first single, “Weatherman” the band garnered mainstream attention, including the “Single of the Fortnight” from Irish magazine Hot Press. [3]

However Rice gradually became disillusioned with Juniper’s direction. Reaching the point where he had gained “everything that I had wanted as a teenage musician” [4] and achieving his childhood dream of playing at the Olympia theatre Rice became dissatisfied with life on the record label. Stating he felt increasingly obligated to change the band’s style to suit the record labels' wishes. “You know, it gets to a point where as a human being you start feeling sort of obliged towards these people who are providing you with everything”, said Rice in an interview with Yahoo! Music. “They were asking, "Can we just make it a little bit more radio-friendly?" And there was that sort of guilt feeling….” [4]

After allowing the label to change parts of their second single "The World is Dead" to be more radio friendly, Rice became disheartened and made the decision to leave Juniper before the recording of their debut album. With Rice’s departure in pursuit of a solo career Juniper disbanded, with the remaining members becoming Bell X1.[4]

Solo career and O

Damien Rice at the Coachella in 2007

Immediately following the split, Rice moved to Tuscany in Italy and took up farming as a profession. He claimed that his passion for music caused him to return to Ireland. “I thought I was going to be a farmer or something; I planted vegetables and whatever. But the music thing started coming back to me”, said Rice. “And so I went back to Ireland for a while.” [4]

Instead of remaining in Ireland Rice busked around Europe, claiming it was during this period he gained a new perception on life and his way of living. “It was this freedom, which was beautiful and really interesting--and really hard at the time.” [4]

However on his second return to Ireland Rice’s grandmother got in touch with him and gave him a newspaper clipping about his cousin, music producer David Arnold. Though Rice at the time didn’t know who Arnold was he rang him to ask some advice about record deals.[4] From the money Rice had earned busking around Europe he was able to produce a demo which after being heard by Arnold, bought him a mobile studio for Rice to record his debut album.[5][6] His first single "The Blower's Daughter" became an immediate top 20 hit when it was released in the Autumn of 2001.[5] Over the next year following his own creative process Rice travelled to several places in Ireland and England to work on the album, including Kerry to work with New York drummer Tom Osander aka Tomo, to Paris with pianist Jean Meunier, to London with David Arnold, and to Dublin with vocalist Lisa Hannigan and cellist Vyvienne Long.[6] To promote the album Rice embarked on mini-tour of Ireland with Hannigan, Tomo, Vyvienne, and also Dublin bassist Shane Fitzsimons.[6]

Rice’s debut album O was released on the 1st of February 2002 in Ireland, 22nd of July in UK and the 10th of June in the US.[7] The album went on to peak at #8 on the UK albums chart and stayed in the charts for a total of 97 weeks; [7] it topped the US Billboard Heatseekers chart and has sold over 650,000 copies in the US.[8] The album also won the Shortlist music prize in the US competing against the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Floetry.[8] The album also spawned two top 30 hits, "Cannonball" and "Volcano".[9]

Critical response to O was generally favourable, garnering a score of 80 on the review aggregator Metacritic.[10] Charles Spano in a review for All Music Guide gave the album 9 out of 10 claiming “the entire record makes the empty highway less lonely, the sunshine a little warmer, and life a little more poetic”, describing it as a “hopelessly beautiful record”.[11] Alexis Petridis in his review for The Guardian described the album “gorgeous and understated” awarding it 4 stars out of 5. [12] Rolling Stone were also impressed stating that the album has “songs that, for all their quietness, leave a dark, lasting impression.”[13] However some critics, such as Stylus were less impressed, claiming “you can actually hear the moment when the album turns sour.”[14]

9

Rice released his second studio album 9 in 2006. [15] The album was recorded in 2004 and 2005, and released on November 3 in Ireland, on November 6 in Europe and the rest of the world and lastly on November 14 in North America.

Rice has also recorded an old Juniper track, "Crosseyed Bear" (originally titled "Jewellery Box"), for the new War Child album.

Rice releases albums under his record label Heffa (originally named DRM) in Ireland. For album releases in North America, they are handled by Vector Records. Record releases in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are handled by 14th Floor Records (through Warner Music).[16]

Concert appearances

Rice played on the Friday night at the Glastonbury Festival 2007, in the Acoustic Tent. On 1 July 2007, Rice played at the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. On 7 July 2007 Rice performed with David Gray at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. Rice played the backing rhythm to Gray's "Babylon" before Rice played "Blower's Daughter" (Gray now doing the rhythm). The pair then finished with a cover of "Que Sera Sera". On 8 July Rice played at the T in the Park music event in Scotland. He also headlined the Latitude Festival in Suffolk on 12 July and the V Festival at Weston Park in Stafford, Staffordshire on 18 August and at Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex on 19 August. Another performance was at Osheaga Festival in Montreal on 8 September.

Rice also headlined his first outdoor show in Ireland[17] in Marlay Park on 25 August, backed by Fionn Regan, Willy Mason, Guillemots, and KT Tunstall.

He made a number of appearances in North America through autumn, called An Evening with Damien Rice. These shows included a second guitarist, bassist, cellist, and a drummer to support Damien. There were no supporting acts on this tour.

In the media

Rice's songs have appeared featured several times on popular films and television shows. "The Blower's Daughter" has been used for figure skating, in particular pair skating. Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison have used it for two seasons and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier have used it in professional competitions.[18][19] "The Blower's Daughter" and "Cold Water" featured prominently in the 2004 film Closer.[20] "Cold Water" was also featured in the 2003 film I am David,[21] the 2005 film Stay, the HBO film The Girl in the Café,[22] and on the NBC dramas ER[23] and The Black Donnellys.[24] "Cannonball" also featured in The Black Donnellys[24] and the 2004 film In Good Company [25] as well as in an episode of The OC, as well as in the Korean drama, Spring Waltz.

His music is mentioned frequently in the novel The Suicide Club by Rhys Thomas (published Feb 2009), and the lead characters establish a group called The Eskimo Friends, after Rice's song. "Delicate" was featured on the ABC dramas Alias, Lost, the Showtime series Huff and "The L Word" Season 1, the Fox drama House,[26], and the 2004 British film Dear Frankie.[27] "Older Chests" was featured on the NBC drama Crossing Jordan[28] and in CBS science-fiction drama Jericho. His song "9 Crimes" appeared featured during the episode "From a Whisper to a Scream" on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.[29], on Spin 1038, Channel 6, and on CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and also episode 9 of The Inbetweeners. "Grey Room" appeared featured on One Tree Hill,[26] in an episode of Criminal Minds, and on an episode of House.[30]

Segments of the single "9 Crimes" featured in an episode of the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, in the computer-generated film Shrek the Third, though it was not included in the accompanying soundtrack. It was also used at the end of the second episode of season two of "The Cleaner", an A&E tv show. [31] Selections from "Eskimo" appeared featured in the 2005 Warren Miller ski movie, Higher Ground. "The Blower's Daughter" could be heard in the Fox criminal drama Bones and also appeared in an episode of the short-lived series Hidden Palms. "Grey Room" featured in the film trailer for 2007's Reservation Road but was not featured in the movie. Rice recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios in October 2006 for Live from Abbey Road. His performance was screened in an episode alongside those of Jamiroquai and the Goo Goo Dolls.

Charity

Rice is known for his charity work. He has helped the Freedom Campaign, the Burma Campaign UK and the U.S. Campaign for Burma to free Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is presently being subjected to her third term of house arrest in Rangoon by the Burmese military junta.[32] Aung San Suu Kyi has been confined to her home since September 2003. Rice and Hannigan recorded a charity song, campaigning for her release, called "Unplayed Piano", which they performed at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. In addition, Rice has links to various charitable non-governmental organizations.[33]

In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, which is an initiative to support Tibet, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights situation in Tibet. The album was issued on 5 August via iTunes and on 19 August in music stores around the world.[34]

Discography

Studio albums

  • 2002 – O
  • 2006 – 9

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Year Title Album UK[35][36] Ireland[37]
2001 "The Blower's Daughter" O - -
2002 "Cannonball" O 32 21
"Volcano" O - 29
2003 "Woman Like a Man" - - -
2004 "Moody Mooday/Lonelily" (Vinyl only) - - -
"Lonely Soldier" (with Christy Moore) - - 4
"Cannonball (re-mix)" O 19 -
"The Blower's Daughter (re-issue)" O 27 -
2005 "Volcano (re-issue)" O 29 -
"Unplayed Piano" (with Lisa Hannigan) - 24 4
2006 "9 Crimes" 9 29 14
2007 "Rootless Tree" 9 50 -
"Dogs" 9 - -
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other contributions

Collaborations

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Best 50 Irish Acts Right Now". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ "FAQ - Where was Damien born and where did he grow up?". DamienRice.com. no date. Retrieved April 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b "Should We Talk About The Weather?". Hot Press. Retrieved 12 September 2009. (Fee for article)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "The story of O". Yahoo. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  5. ^ a b "Damien Rice - Biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved 13 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |RICE&sql= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Damien Rice - Album Completion". Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Text "publisher - IMRO" ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b "UK Chart History for O". chartstats.com. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ a b "Damien Rice Readies Sophomore Album". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ "Damien Rice singles placement". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  10. ^ "Reviews for O on Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  11. ^ "O Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. ^ "Damien Rice: O". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ "Damien Rice O review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ "Damien Rice O review". Stylus. Retrieved 12 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "9 - Release info". DamienRice.com. no date. Retrieved April 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ FAQ at DamienRice.com
  17. ^ Last FM Concert Event Info
  18. ^ isufs.org
  19. ^ sale-pelletier.com
  20. ^ "Soundtracks for Closer (2004/I)". IMDb. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Soundtracks for I Am David (2003)". IMDb. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "The Girl In The Cafe Movie - soundtrack". TheGirlInTheCafe.com. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "ER - If Not Now". CNET Networks. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ a b "The Black Donnellys - A Stone of the Heart". CNET Networks. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Soundtracks for In Good Company (2004)". IMDb. no date. Retrieved May 28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ a b "Damien Rice". IMDb. no date. Retrieved June 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Dear Frankie Soundtrack at IMDb
  28. ^ "Crossing Jordan - Music - Season Four". CNET Networks. no date. Retrieved June 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ "Grey's Anatomy - From A Whisper to a Scream - Music Featured in this Episode". CNET Networks. no date. Retrieved June 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "House - One Day, One Room - Notes". CNET Networks. no date. Retrieved June 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "The Music of Shrek the Third: Royal Pain". RealNetworks. 18 May 2007. Retrieved June 3. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ "Aung San Suu Kyi the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient". The Burma Campaign UK. no date. Retrieved April 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ 'links' at DamienRice.com
  34. ^ E-Online (July 22, 2008) Sting, Matthews, Mayer Gamer for Tibet Than Beijing
  35. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 460. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  36. ^ Everyhit.com - accessed April 2009
  37. ^ "Damien Rice release history". Irish charts. Retrieved 18 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  38. ^ Tower Records - Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock Retrieved on November 3, 2008
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